Tag: House Insulation in Addison

Is it time for Blown Attic Insulation Cost in Addison? What is the best type to choose? Let us focus on four specific types. One is blown attic insulation the other is batt insulation. Each type has pros and cons. However, which is the best choice for you.

One of the best advantages of blown attic insulation over batt is that the blown style covers everything; while there can be open areas in the batt type.

When you’re looking to have your home or building insulated with spray foam insulation, you have a couple of product choices. Whether you go with closed foam or open foam insulation, the differences in their make will make a big difference in which one will work best for your needs.

Radiant barrier insulation has one reflective side that is made from an aluminum coating. Any radiant barrier insulation can be installed in an existing or new home. The reflective side of the barrier insulation is made to face the open air pocket of the surface.

Almost all Blown Attic Insulation Cost in Addison are tested and rated as fireproof. If for some strange reason you find one that is not, stay away from that product.

Spray Foam Insulation - Open and Closed Cell

Radiant barriers are basically insulation devices used to maintain temperature of the surroundings. They are mainly composed of reflective aluminum sheets placed on substrate material. The substrates are made up of brown paper, craft paper, plastic films, cardboard, plywood sheathing or air infiltration barrier material.

There are two major types of radiant barriers i.e. Spray on and Sheet Barriers. Installation of spray on barriers is very simple. It is just sprayed on the underside of roof. It is made up of paint and metal flecking mixture. This mixture has enough reflective property to reflect the heat. Spray on barrier is durable. The sheet radiant barrier comes in the form of large roles. It can be installed by rolling out on the whole attic. You can roll it up on entire top insulation, hang it from rafter supports, nail it to bottom of the roof or roll it out underneath shingles.

During winters, solar energy is lost from the attic. Radiant barriers reduce this heat loss. They minimize the amount of energy radiated from the top surface of the insulation. However, solar heating of the roof may also result in loss of some beneficial heat gains. More research is currently underway to determine the affectivity of radiant barriers in winter season.

The History of Spray Foam Insulation

Adding insulation to your attic is a great way to save energy, but there are a number of choices that you need to sort through. What is the best type for your situation? What is the best location for this added insulation? How much should you add?

The first thing that you need to determine is how much insulation you already have. Measure the depth and determine the type. Then multiply the depth by the appropriate value: Cellulose: 3.1, Fiberglass Batt or Blown: 3.7, Closed-Cell Foam: 6.2, Open-Cell Foam: 3.6.

Before you move any further to insulate your attic, you should make sure that you have any knob and tube wiring in your attic that would be covered by insulation replaced. The wires in this type of system need to be in the open air in order to dissipate heat. If they are surrounded by insulation this will trap the heat and cause a fire hazard.

Once you have calculated the R-value of your insulation, you need to determine how much more you should add. Energy Starr has developed recommended levels of attic insulation for every Zone throughout the US. See map at Energy Star and chart below. However, what it boils down to is most houses don't have enough insulation. R-30 is the bare minimum and unless you live in south Florida, the recommended amount is twice that.

Radiant Barriers: work differently than thermal insulation. They reflect the heat away from the thermal insulation, instead of slowing the heat transfer through it. This effectively increases the performance of your thermal insulation in your attic by 50% to 70%. Radiant barriers work best if they are installed between the attic insulation and the roof sheathing, and when they are sloped so that dust will not accumulate on it as quickly. Furthermore, radiant barriers are fairly inexpensive and easy to install.

Your last step is to determine if you are going to add thermal insulation, a radiant barrier, or both. If your house already has what is the code minimum in many locations of R-30, adding a radiant barrier should boost its effectiveness to 45 or even 50. Or if you have an old house with 5 ½" of fiberglass or cellulose (R-17 to R-20) and you add another R-19 and a radiant barrier, you effective insulation value should be between 54 and 65.